Watch The Birdie: Professional Badminton Leagues




Since I'm into the obscure sports it is no surprise that I have tuned into the Olympic sports which aren't as popular as others.  My first viewing was of Olympic badminton.  Yes...badminton.  It was actually more entertaining than I thought it would be.  Obviously it wasn't the badminton I played in the backyard during the summer.  These Olympic badminton players have to have ninja-like reflexes.  This led me to wonder if there ever was a professional badminton league in the United States. I found one.

The World Professional Badminton League played from 2010-2017.  They still have a website located at:  www.worldpbl.com but it hasn't been updated since 2017.  


Teams which played in the league were:

  • Calgary (nickname unknown) 
  • Copenhagen Castles
  • Indiana Racquets
  • Los Angeles Strings
  • New York Netters
  • Orlando Lightning
  • San Diego Admirals
  • Seattle Smash
  • Vancouver Velocity
The league games were all played in one or two locations in each season.  Some were played in July while others were played in October.

A WORLD PBL match between two teams consisted of five games: one game each of  men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Each game won was a point in a team’s total score.

The Los Angeles Strings won the most league titles with two (2010, 2011) followed by San Diego (2012), Indiana (2013), Vancouver (2014), Orlando (2015), New York (2016).  There was no champion listed for 2017.

There is no further record of the league and the last Facebook post was that the league was planning to return in 2018.

Some of the league's top players were Anand Chetan, Paula O'Banana, Kestutis Navickas and Rasmus Fladberg. 

There is no record of any return of the World PBL.  

Although there are currently no professional leagues in the United States, there is a professional badminton league in India (Premier Badminton League).  The fifth season of the PBL started on 20 January 2020 and concluded on 9 February 2020. Seven teams participated in the season. Delhi Dashers and Ahmedabad Smash Masters did not participate in this edition. Total prize money of $840,000 was announced by Sportzlive for the tournament. Bengaluru Raptors beat Northeastern Warriors 4-2 in the finals to win their second title. It was also their second consecutive title in PBL.

Another league, National Badminton League, played in England for three seasons from 2014-2017.

But, why isn't badminton popular in America?

Badminton isn't even the most popular racquet sport in the USA. Tennis is the most popular racquet sport in America and its drawing tons of interest in young athletes that could be competing in badminton. No one really dreams about being a badminton star in America. One reason is because there has not been any star badminton players in America.  Star athletes help bring exposure to the sport and that increases young people's interest in playing it. America is also not one of the best countries in the world at badminton. Since USA is not dominating and consistently winning events this is keeping the media from providing any attention to American badminton. 



  


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